FALSE: Trillanes says Duterte created COVID-19 with China

Rappler.com

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FALSE: Trillanes says Duterte created COVID-19 with China
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV did not say the quote attributed to him

Claim: Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said President Rodrigo Duterte created COVID-19 together with China.

A photo of Trillanes posted by Facebook page Yellow Army on June 24 contained this quote: “Si Duterte ang gumawa ng COVID-19 kasama ang China. Hinihikayat ko ang lahat na pabagsakin ang gobyerno! (Duterte created COVID-19 with China. I encourage everyone to overthrow the government!)”

This post was flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that detects dubious content on the platform. As of writing, the post acquired 336 reactions, 324 comments, and 272 shares.

Rating: FALSE

The facts: Trillanes did not say this quote. He debunked the claim on his Facebook page, saying, “For info, this quote did not come from me. Please be vigilant against ‘fake news’ and fake posts.”

On June 24, Trillanes posted a quote saying, “Si Duterte ang may kasalanan kung bakit palpak at corrupt ang gobyerno, bagsak ang ekonomiya, mahirap ang buhay, maraming COVID cases, walang masakyan, at lubog na sa utang ang bansa (Duterte is to blame for how the government is failing and corrupt, the economy has fallen, life is difficult, COVID cases are numerous, transportation is unavailable, and the country is deep in debt.)”

However, he did not say that Duterte created the coronavirus together with China.

The former senator also posted a video in May that compiled some of Duterte’s statements on the novel coronavirus, but in the video, Trillanes did not say that Duterte created it. He only said, in the caption of the video, “No wonder we are in such a mess.”

Moreover, no legitimate news websites reported Trillanes saying this quote.

This is not the first time Trillanes was made the subject of false claims. Rappler earlier debunked a similar false tweet allegedly from Trillanes, which said that Duterte was to blame for the calamities in the country, including the coronavirus. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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